Elise Elrod speaks about Gender Identity Disorder
Samantha Hearn
Issue date: 4/27/09 Section: News
In addition to the surgery, Elrod also has facial reconstruction on her forehead, chin, jaw, and nose.
"I did it so I could feel more like myself. What I felt like on the inside didn't match what I looked like on the outside," she said.
Elrod educated the audience about what it's like to have Gender Identity Disorder.
In the DSM IV, the manual of mental disorders, it describes GID as, "Persistent discomfort about one's assigned sex," and "Identifying with the opposite sex."
"My genetic sex didn't change during the transition, only my physical sex," she said. "People get the wrong idea about GID when they hear the term 'trans-gender' or 'trans-sexual.'"
Elrod said that her gender didn't "trans" anywhere and that her inner gender had always been female.
"It's a shame the way society thinks about GID," she said. "Society sees it as a flaw, when in reality, it's just who we are."
"People aren't very understanding when it comes to issues like this," said student Cody Madison. "It would make the world a better place if they would open their minds a little."
Elrod said that at times she asked herself if she wished she would have done the change earlier in life.
"Then Joni asked me, 'do you really wish that?'" she said. "I realized then that if I had changed earlier, I wouldn't have her, or my children, or any of the experiences I have had with them in my life. All of the opportunities I've had and the ways I've grown would be gone, and I'm grateful that she asked me that question."
"I did it so I could feel more like myself. What I felt like on the inside didn't match what I looked like on the outside," she said.
Elrod educated the audience about what it's like to have Gender Identity Disorder.
In the DSM IV, the manual of mental disorders, it describes GID as, "Persistent discomfort about one's assigned sex," and "Identifying with the opposite sex."
"My genetic sex didn't change during the transition, only my physical sex," she said. "People get the wrong idea about GID when they hear the term 'trans-gender' or 'trans-sexual.'"
Elrod said that her gender didn't "trans" anywhere and that her inner gender had always been female.
"It's a shame the way society thinks about GID," she said. "Society sees it as a flaw, when in reality, it's just who we are."
"People aren't very understanding when it comes to issues like this," said student Cody Madison. "It would make the world a better place if they would open their minds a little."
Elrod said that at times she asked herself if she wished she would have done the change earlier in life.
"Then Joni asked me, 'do you really wish that?'" she said. "I realized then that if I had changed earlier, I wouldn't have her, or my children, or any of the experiences I have had with them in my life. All of the opportunities I've had and the ways I've grown would be gone, and I'm grateful that she asked me that question."
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